HistoricSiteMarkers
Colonial America

First Friends Meeting

Chester, Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Marker Inscription

Here in 1675, William Edmundson convened the first recorded meeting of Friends (Quakers) within present Pennsylvania. This was at the home of Robert Wade, who in 1682 greeted William Penn upon his arrival in Chester.

Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission

The Story

Seven years before William Penn set foot in his new colony, Quakers gathered here in 1675 for what is remembered as the first recorded meeting of Friends within present-day Pennsylvania. The host was a settler whose home became a landmark of the young community, and who would later welcome Penn himself when the proprietor arrived at Chester in 1682. These early meetings planted the seeds of the Quaker faith that would shape Pennsylvania's founding ideals.

Why it matters

It marks the arrival of Quakerism on Pennsylvania soil, the religious movement whose belief in tolerance defined Penn's 'holy experiment.'

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Related people

  • · William Edmundson
  • · Robert Wade
  • · William Penn

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